Romancing the ban: censorship of porn will never work

In Norma’s own “dark” age, where porn is outlawed and male sexual urges are straitjacketed by a new form of Puritanism, sexual crimes would likely rise. Porn, meanwhile, would go underground, where many more women would be brutalised and exploited.

To enforce these bans, the price in civil liberties would be disastrously high. Put simply, porn and prostitution - not for nothing the “oldest profession” - will exist no matter what public policy we pursue; and, unlike bans, regulation will give us some control over conditions in the industries.

Of course, most people would agree with the proposition that porn should not be available to children under 18. But a ban is not the answer. The state has no right to choose which websites are suitable for the nation’s young people and which aren’t.

Rather than subjecting porn to bans, we should discuss it in terms of ethics - that is, how young men should treat women in our society, regardless of what they see online. Stop me if I’m wrong - but aren’t our teachers and parents already doing that?